ST. PAUL, Minn. – The College of St. Scholastica football team built a 14-point first-half advantage Saturday night, but Macalester College scored the final 24 points of the game to rally for a 24-14 victory at Macalester Stadium.
St. Scholastica opened the scoring with an explosive play late in the first quarter. Backed up at its own six-yard line, Eddie Dossantos (Rockford, MN/Providence Academy) connected with Jeremiah Jackson (Minneapolis, MN/Minneapolis North High School) for a 94-yard touchdown with 1:28 remaining in the period. Jack Schroeder (Fall Creek, WI/Regis High School) added the extra point to give the Saints a 7-0 lead.
The Saints doubled their advantage early in the second quarter. Starting at their own 11, CSS marched 89 yards in six plays, highlighted by a 50-yard completion to Brayden Dent (Green Isle, MN/Central HS). Blake Fox (Somerset, WI/Somerset High School) finished the drive with a 31-yard touchdown run, putting St. Scholastica ahead 14-0 with 11:12 remaining in the half.
CSS threatened again on its next possession, advancing to the Macalester 16-yard line before the Scots intercepted a pass. Macalester then put together a 99-yard scoring drive, cutting the Saints' lead to 14-7 on a three-yard touchdown pass from Jack Scully to Kelly Storms with 47 seconds left before halftime.
Macalester tied the game on its opening possession of the second half, driving 71 yards before Scully found Paxton Boyd for a four-yard touchdown with 9:49 left in the third quarter.
St. Scholastica answered by moving into scoring range, but a 39-yard field goal attempt was blocked. The Saints would not score again.
The Scots took their first lead with 10:34 remaining in the fourth quarter when Scully connected with Boyd for a 20-yard touchdown, giving Macalester a 21-14 advantage.
CSS responded by driving from its own 46 to the Macalester 17, but the possession ended on downs. Macalester followed with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took nearly five minutes off the clock before Andrew Wetherill connected on a 25-yard field goal to extend the margin to 24-14.
The Saints made one final push, moving from their own 24 into Macalester territory, but were unable to cut into the deficit.
Dossantos finished 16-of-25 passing for 284 yards and a touchdown. St. Scholastica totaled 335 passing yards as a team and 401 yards of total offense.
Jackson led the receiving corps with four catches for 157 yards and the 94-yard touchdown. Nathan Behrens (Watertown, MN/Watertown-Mayer HS) caught five passes for 90 yards, while Dent finished with three receptions for 64 yards.
Stephan Jackson (Minneapolis, MN/Minneapolis North HS) led the Saints on the ground with 48 yards on 10 carries, while Fox recorded 34 yards and a touchdown on two attempts.
Defensively, Maximilian Neaves (Waseca, MN/Waseca HS) led St. Scholastica with nine tackles. Isaac Johnson (St. Paul, MN/St. Paul Highland Park HS), Samuel Haug (Brooklyn Park, MN/Concordia Academy) and Christopher Norgbean (Plymouth, MN/Robbinsdale Armstrong High School) each finished with six. Gabe Kattchee (La Crosse WI./Logan HS) recorded a sack and two tackles for loss, while Connor Plumley (Olivia, MN/Bold HS) forced and recovered a first-quarter fumble.
Macalester finished with a 439-401 advantage in total offense and controlled the ground game with 202 rushing yards compared to 66 for St. Scholastica. The Scots also held the ball for 34:38.
The loss dropped St. Scholastica to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in conference play, while Macalester improved to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the league.
